Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery; Regulatory Amendment to Adopt Fishing Gear Standards for the NE Multispecies Regular B Day-At-Sea (DAS) Program and the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock Special Access Program (SAP)

Resumen

NMFS proposes to amend the regulations governing minimum performance standards of fishing gear proposed for use in both the NE multispecies Regular B DAS Program and the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP. Under the current regulations, the only fishing gear allowed for use in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP and the only trawl gear allowed for use in the Regular B DAS Program is a properly configured haddock separator trawl. The purpose of this rule is to ultimately provide greater flexibility to fishermen participating in these programs.